Experience in Madrid, Spain by Boriana

What is it like to live in Madrid? Would you recommend it? What is the city like?

Madrid is crazy and, as one famous Spanish politician once said: "Madrid is fAn" (Madrid is fun). I am talking about Ana Botella, the mayor of Madrid, and you can see her famous Olympic games speech where she talks about the city in YouTube.

So, about Madrid. It is a huge city of about five million inhabitants. Great but complicated metro and bus system, several universities, bars, clubs, cinemas, theaters, etc., etc...

If you have decided to do Erasmus or any other exchange in Madrid you will most certainly fall in love with the city. Erasmus students are crazy about Madrid because there are many great events, parties, and trips they can go to. If you have decided to come to work here, you will most probably also fall in love with it but you should know that it tends to be disorganized from time to time.

What is the student lifestyle like in Madrid?

It really depends. For us, "normal" students it is both great fun and pain in the ass. There are enough bars, restaurants, and clubs where we could go out in the evenings. There are tons of cultural events and other interesting stuff we can do in Madrid. The problem with the student lifestyle is that at leas my university is quite disorganized and sometimes I lose a lot of time to figure out what is expected of me in terms of projects and homework. I hate that part. Apart from the lack of clarity and organization, student life is great and Erasmus students, as far as I know, are having the time of their lives.

How much does it cost to live in Madrid?

It really depends on the place you want to live in. If you want a fancy flat in the center of the city you might as well pay four hundred to five hundred for a single room. Normal rent prices are between two hundred fifty and three hundred. If you want to go out a lot you might spend quite a lot of money on drinks. If you are more into home made food and home parties it will not be so expensive. Food in Spain is not too expensive, especially products like fruit, vegetables, rice, legumes, etc.

Travelling is a bit expensive in Spain because it is a huge country and you might need to pay a lot to get to some interesting but distant palace. Public transport in Madrid also varies. If you are under twenty three you will pay about thirty five Euros for a monthly card. If you are above twenty three, you will have to pay about fifty four each month which is a bit expensive.